In the first T20I of the three-match series, George Linde’s overall performance with bat and ball helped the hosts to secure victory by 11 runs. South African skipper Heinrich Klassen won the toss and elected to bat first. The match started in typical Shaheen Shah Afridi style as he nipped back the ball into the right-hander batsman Reeza Hendricks but the bounce on the Durban’s pitch helped the batsman to survive, after two balls the Pakistani pacer got the aggressive opener of South Africa Rassie van der Dussen for the golden duck and yet again, he captured a wicket in the match’s first over.
Newly appointed Pakistani skipper Mohammed Rizwan made a daring choice by bringing the wrist spinner Abrar Ahmed for the second over of the match, on the second ball Matthew Breetzke smashed Abrar over the boundaries in reply Abrar bowls the quicker one and Breetzke smashed it and only managed to find the safe hands of Saim Ayub at the point. Abrar also grabbed the wicket of the opener Hendricks in his second over.
However, David Miller smashed 82 runs in just 40 balls with 8 sixes and 4 boundaries in his innings and assisted South Africa in bouncing back from the early setbacks. Pakistan skipper brings his premier pacer Shaheen Afridi back into the attack for the 14th over and he stood up and grabbed the wicket of the big fish Miller.
Linde’s late fireworks in the lower order helped the hosts put 183 runs on the board for the Men in Green, he smashed 48 runs on 24 runs with four maximums in his innings.
Babar Azam’s dry spell with the bat continued as he went back without troubling the scorers, despite the loss of Babar Azam early in the innings Saim Ayub went hard on the bowlers but couldn’t manage to clear the ropes in the 7th over.
Rizwan found it difficult to keep his strike rate up, and the inexperienced middle order couldn’t handle the scoreboard pressure. However, the late attack from the skipper made the hosts feel the heat, but it was too late for Pakistan.
In the first T20, Babar and Rizwan opened the innings. They had tremendous records, but they couldn’t make an impact on the game. In the last 14 international innings, Babar hasn’t scored a single 50+ score. This record is very concerning for the management and will raise many questions about his future in the shortest format of the game.
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Jasir Basharat is a cricket enthusiast capturing the heart of the game through insightful analysis and storytelling sharing his passion for the sport through engaging narratives. He is a business graduate from University of Kashmir.
